Expectations high for Craig Nicholson, ASU softball

“Next man up” is the en vogue phrase of today’s sports lexicon — the notion that a team must always be ready to replace a lost player.

The expression doesn’t quite apply to women’s softball, for obvious reasons, but this season Arizona State is operating under a similar slogan:

Next coach up.

Craig Nicholson is in his first year in charge at ASU. He comes from Ball State and replaces Clint Myers, who left for Auburn last summer after taking the Sun Devils to the Women’s College World Series in seven of his eight seasons.

ASU is the only program in the nation to return four All-Americans this year — seniors Dallas Escobedo (pitcher), Cheyenne Coyle (shortstop) and Alix Johnson (outfield), and junior Amber Freeman (catcher), the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year.

With the team’s top two pitchers as well as eight of nine defensive starters also back, the pressure is on Nicholson to get the Sun Devils to Oklahoma City for the fourth straight season.

“I think there’s always pressure at a program like this,” Nicholson said. “You’re never going to avoid the fact that there’s expectations. And I think it’s more about the expectations than it is pressure.

“But I don’t know that any external expectations are going to be more than what I expect of myself.”

ASU’s players still are steaming over their two-and-out performance at last season’s Women’s College World Series. This year’s senior class represents the last link to the program’s most recent national championship, in 2011.

“Going out how I came in,” said Escobedo, who that year won all 10 of ASU’s postseason games and was named the WCWS co-Most Outstanding Player as a freshman. “That would be amazing.”

This season’s group is equipped to do it. The only question comes at second base, where sophomore Nikki Girard and freshman Chelsea Gonzales will compete to replace Sam Parlich, the team’s only graduated starter.

The Sun Devils will face their first tests this weekend in the season-opening Kajikawa Classic, which will see them play six games in four days, starting Thursday.

It will be Nicholson’s ASU debut, and the team’s first opportunity to start living up to those lofty expectations.

“A lot of people are saying this is our year,” Johnson said. “Every year they’ve put pressure upon us, from my freshman year up to now, because we’ve always had a very good, stacked team. So we’re expecting nothing less than to make it to Oklahoma City and hopefully take the big trophy.”

ASU enters the season ranked seventh in both the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll — somewhat of a surprise given that many expected the Sun Devils to land within the top five, considering their returning talent.

But they know they’ll have plenty of time to move up once the season begins.

“We were kind of laughing at that,” Escobedo said. “We know we’re better than that. But it’s not something that we can control, so we just put it in the back of our minds. We’ll change people’s minds when we get out on the field.”

ASU softball preview

Key games: Feb. 14 vs. Oklahoma. There will be no love lost between these two teams on Valentine’s Day. The defending national champion Sooners knocked ASU out of the Women’s College World Series in 2012 and will be the first top-25 team the Sun Devils face this season, as part of the Littlewood Classic. … March 28-30 vs. Arizona. It’s always a packed house when the Wildcats come to town. Arizona is in an unfamiliar spot to start the year — out of the preseason top 25 and instead in the “Others Receiving Votes” category – but the rankings don’t matter in this rivalry. … April 17-19 vs. Washington. The Huskies are the only Pac-12 team ranked ahead of ASU in the preseason polls — third by USA Today/NFCA Coaches and fifth by ESPN.com/USA Softball. ASU and Washington tied for first place in the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll, with the Sun Devils receiving five first-place votes and the Huskies four.

Strengths: ASU is one of the more-experienced teams in the nation with eight returning starters on offense and both of its top pitchers also back. … As always, the Sun Devils will play a home-heavy non-conference schedule, with their first 24 games coming at Farrington Stadium. This helps pad ASU’s record and, this season in particular, could help foster confidence in new head coach Craig Nicholson and his staff.

Concerns: If ASU stumbles early, heads will immediately turn in Nicholson’s direction. With associate head coach and pitching coordinator Chuck D’Arcy the lone holdover from last season’s staff, a senior-heavy team will have to adjust to a lot of new voices in the dugout. … C Amber Freeman underwent off-season knee surgery, and ASU will be cautious with her throughout the year, often using her as the designated player to limit her wear. Nicholson said Freeman will not catch more than seven innings in any given day, and the team will try to avoid using her on back-to-back days. The cornerstone of ASU’s lineup, Freeman needs another healthy and productive season for the Sun Devils to contend for a national championship.

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